The Contribution of Word Webbing to Project-based Learning in Teaching Vocabulary: A Comparative Study in an EFL Context

Abstract

This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of applying word web strategy with and without project based learning (PBL) on EFL learners’ vocabulary learning. Ninety female EFL learners from a high school in Tehran were the participants of this study. They were at intermediate level of language proficiency and in three intact classes of 30 members. The three classes were randomly assigned as one control and two experimental groups. The homogeneity of three intact groups in terms of general language proficiency and knowledge of vocabulary was determined by comparing their mean scores after performing on a PET and a pretest of vocabulary respectively. After that, the participants received 12- session treatment, including teaching vocabulary using word web (WW) strategy without PBL for one experimental group, and using WW with PBL for another while the control group received the usual instruction of the teacher for the same new words without WW and PBL. At the end of the treatment, the teacher- made vocabulary posttest was administered to the study groups. To test the hypotheses of the study with respect to the violation of the normality assumption, Kruskal-Wallis test was run on participants’ scores. The results showed that the participants in both experimental groups significantly outperformed the participants in the control group in terms of vocabulary learning. The results also showed that the students who received WW with PBL outperformed those who received it without PBL.